Competition: Incentive To Protect Proprietary Business Methods

Law360 (January 31, 2006, 12:00 AM EST) -- As business method patents are being issued and asserted in litigation with greater regularity, they are changing the competitive landscape. While the “frenzy” of business method patents in the late-1990s has simmered and the financial services industry has succeeded in enacting a modest change to the patent laws, certain competitors still view patents as an important aspect of their business.

* The Changing Landscape—There Is More Than One Way to Make Money In The Financial Services Industry *